


The End of Something Simple

by Lyds and Ally (thunderandlightning)



Category: Dawson's Creek, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Jackson Whittemore is a Hale, M/M, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 07:52:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14160177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderandlightning/pseuds/Lyds%20and%20Ally
Summary: The Dawson's Creek/Teen Wolf AU that nobody asked for.





	The End of Something Simple

Lydia Martin stood in the doorway of the house that she had purchased with Derek Hale and his cousin, Jackson. When they were children, their parents had been involved in a car accident that left no survivors. The three of them had ended up in foster care together. They knew when they were twelve that they had money coming to them one day, but they all agreed that they didn’t want to spend it on themselves, any more than they had to. After that, the plan became buying a house with their pooled inheritance money and taking in foster children like they had been. It had been the perfect plan, except for one hitch - the people in charge insisted that all of them were too young and not stable enough to raise kids. Now they had this six-bedroom monster of a house and no real use for it. Lydia wanted to fix that problem. “What do you think?” She called out to the guys. “We could rent out the bedrooms to other people. If we put at least two beds in each room, that’s six more people who can pay us some rent. Or we could use bunk beds. Two sets per room, that’s twelve people. This place could work as a hostel, couldn’t it?” 

“As long as people are paying us and aren’t thinking they can just lay around doing nothing at all.” Jackson said, looking down one of the hallways curiously.

Derek rolled his eyes at his cousin, and then glanced at Lydia. “It could definitely work as a hostel.” He murmured. “There are a lot of people that would be willing to live in a place like this.”

“So we can list it as a hostel and rooms for rent, more long-term.” Lydia mused. “We could keep one room as our hostel room. Two bunk beds? If we charge fifty dollars a night for them, that would help us out a lot in upkeep costs. We’ll just wait and see who responds first, I guess.” 

“Hopefully not a lot of people looking to come down for one break or another and getting pissed off because they didn’t see the ‘long-term’ part.” Derek sighed. “I don’t have the energy to deal with stupidity, not after the trouble we went through even getting this place and trying to get them to let us do what we want in the first place.”

“I’m still thinking.” Lydia remarked, her gaze distant. “Three bedrooms and four beds per room is twelve beds, and fifty dollars a night per bed is six hundred dollars a night, so long as all of the beds are paid for. But I don’t think I want to do laundry every day to make sure that there are clean sheets and pillow cases. We’ll start off with the ad for roommates and if it doesn’t work out in a month, we’ll go with the hostel idea. And hire a housekeeper.” 

Derek nodded as Jackson came back toward them, slipping his arm around Lydia’s shoulders. “As long as Jackson doesn’t have any objections to living with more people than anticipated. And even if he does. I’m for it.”

Jackson blinked. “Living with more people?” His shoulders fell a little. “We’re getting roommates, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, but only because there’s no reason at all to let three bedrooms stay empty.” Lydia shook her head. “It also probably wouldn’t kill us to get to know more people. I like that we’re all friends with one another - and being related doesn’t make you friends by default - but too many people have been in and out of our lives.” 

“Agreed.” Derek murmured, patting Jackson’s shoulder hard and without sympathy. “And - well, coming from me, that’s saying something.”

Lydia hugged Derek, then Jackson. “I’ll go write the ad and put it online.” She went up the stairs to her bedroom, getting on her laptop to get started on the ad. She knew that she wanted at least six roommates, figuring that sharing a room wouldn’t bother someone in college, since solitary dorm rooms were practically nonexistent. ‘Three shared bedrooms available in spacious two-story home. College students preferred. Rent $250/month per tenant.’ She listed her phone number for inquiries, making sure to mention that she wanted to communicate through text to begin with. She reasoned that anyone unwilling to follow simple directions didn’t belong in a house with her. 

Within minutes there was a text on her phone. ‘Are pets an issue?’

‘Only if you don’t clean up after them.’ Lydia replied, smiling to herself. ‘What kind of pets do you have?’

‘Oh, actually, I don’t have any. I’m a vet-in-training, and I just wanted to be sure that it would be okay, in case I needed to bring any home for recuperation or something.’ There was a smiley face attached to the end of the message.

Lydia felt intrigued by this person who had responded so quickly to her ad. ‘Are you busy currently?’ 

‘Not at the moment. I just happened to be looking online for a place, and your ad popped up and I’d have to be really stupid not to jump on that, you know? Why, are you?’

‘Not at all. How about if you come by and meet us, and we’ll talk more about expectations and when rent is due?’ Lydia walked down the stairs, clutching her phone. “I think I found us a roommate.” 

“That was fast.” Derek commented, looking surprised, just as Lydia’s phone pinged with a ‘Sounds great!’ and a thumbs up.

Lydia looked down at her phone and smiled. “Well, despite certain past circumstances, I believe that fate could be a legitimate thing.” She sent their intended tenant the address for the house, then asked that they snap a selfie and send it to her, so that she would know who she was greeting. 

The picture that came back showed a young man with jet black hair and tan skin, a goofy, wide smile on his face as one hand waved at the camera. ‘My name’s Scott!’

Lydia held her phone up, positioning it to take a picture of herself, Derek and Jackson. She typed their names over each of their shirts, then sent it to Scott. ‘See you soon.’ 

‘See you!’ Scott agreed.

Jackson looked dubiously at Lydia. “He sounds too happy. I already don’t like him.” 

Derek lifted a hand and cuffed Jackson on the back of the head without looking at him, smiling at Lydia. “I do.”

Lydia giggled. “I do, too. We need someone to offset our doom and gloom around here, or we’re going to be too much like the Munsters.” 

“Well, Derek’s got the eyebrows and the forehead to be Harry. Or whatever his name is.” Jackson pointed out.

“Okay, one, it’s Herman.” Derek turned to look at his cousin. “Two?” He smacked him on the back of the head again. “Three, you’re getting a damn re-education in Nick-at-Nite shows, because that was embarrassing.”

Lydia couldn’t help laughing again. “I’m going to make some iced tea or lemonade before Scott gets here.” She went into the kitchen, deciding to make both drinks, just in case Scott preferred one over the other. 

“Do we have anything to eat?” Derek called after her before following her into the kitchen. “It should probably be smart to have something to snack on for all of us once he gets here, right? Even if it’s just crackers or something.”

“Grapes and cheese?” Lydia suggested. “We don’t have wine, so that’s a little weird, but I think it could work.” 

Derek grinned, poking his head in the fridge as he opened the door. “Grapes and cheese it is.” He agreed, and pulled both out, setting them on the counter for a moment before he reached for a plate. He quickly set up the cheese, and then washed the grapes before placing them on the plate as well.

Lydia gave Derek a grateful smile as she set both pitchers down near the plate of snacks. She had taken years to find a house in Massachusetts that she was sure all three of them would agree on, to raise foster kids together. Lydia still felt annoyed by the fact that she had a bachelor’s degree from MIT, even though she was only twenty, but somehow wasn’t stable enough to take care of children just because her parents had died in a car accident. She had never really been the maternal type, but she figured most of that involved potty-training and teaching children how to walk, things that most foster children already knew how to do. She trusted that if Derek or Jackson ever had the chance to take care of babies, they would do it and leave the older children to Lydia’s care. But she suspected that she would need to wait another two or three years before she tried again to get approved. 

Derek smiled back gently at her, watching her expressions change silently before he made his way to her side and put his arm around her. His hand rubbed over her back gently before he bent his head down to press a kiss to her forehead. “Things will change soon.” He murmured. “And you’ll get your chance, Lyds. We all will.” His lips twitched a little. “And yes, I’ll take care of diaper-wrangling if all you want is to focus on teaching and stuff.”

Lydia grinned. “You’ve started decoding my facial expressions?” She teased. “I just want us to have a big family, no matter what sort of family it is.” 

“I know. I want the same.” Derek sighed. “We’ll get there, though. It might take some time, but we’ve waited this long.”

Lydia nodded, hugging Derek. She walked through the house, looking out through the front window to see if Scott had arrived yet. 

“Lyds, your first victim’s here!” Jackson called from the front hall.

“Victim?” Scott asked, stepping inside in confusion.

“Ignore Jackson, he’s kind of like our version of Marilyn Munster, except she’s sunny and he’s a storm cloud.” Lydia remarked, smiling. “Do you want lemonade or iced tea?” 

Scott smiled at her. “Oh! Um, iced tea, please.” He stuck his hand out abruptly, flushing. “It’s nice to meet you!”

Lydia beamed and shook Scott’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Come on, the kitchen is this way.” She pointed, then walked back into the kitchen to pour Scott a glass of iced tea. “It’s not sweetened, but we do have sugar, if you want some.” 

Scott nodded his head. “If I could, please. Um. Do you - I could grab it?”

“Sure.” Lydia pointed toward the kitchen table. “It’s right over there. I’ll show you around the house when you’re done, but take your time.” 

“Oh, it won’t take me long.” Scott assured her, moving over toward the table and grabbing the sugar bowl and a spoon. He quickly doctored his iced tea, and then replaced the the sugar bowl and cleaned the spoon before replacing that, too. He figured if he was going to end up living there, then he wanted to make sure to show that he knew how to clean up after himself.

Lydia smiled appreciatively as she poured herself some iced tea and sat down to drink it, not bothering to add sugar. “So, where do you work?” 

“Well…” Scott fidgeted a little. “I’m just starting at the veterinary clinic over on Sir Tyler Drive, and volunteering in their animal shelter.”

“Would you be bothered by sharing a bedroom and a bathroom with another tenant?” Lydia was still running numbers in her head, but she was already convinced that Scott should live with her, Derek and Jackson. “Possibly three other tenants?” 

Scott’s eyes slowly widened, and he straightened up a little, watching her and nodding. “Yes. Yes, absolutely. I mean - no, I’m not bothered by that at all, I’m totally okay with it.” He blurted.

Lydia looked relieved. “Great! Then I’ll just show you around and let you pick which room you want. They’re not furnished yet, but that’ll be taken care of before you move in. We have a laundry room here and some tennis courts out back. Is two hundred and fifty a month all right? I’m willing to negotiate price.” 

Scott nodded. “Yeah!” He told her. “It’s pretty much perfect. This place looks like it has everything. I mean, it’s a house, obviously it has everything, but… this is about ten times as big as the house my mom and I had in Chicago.”

“What made you come out here? College?” Lydia asked, intrigued. 

Scott nodded, smiling. “Yeah. It’s why I’m working at the vet clinic. I want to - I’m _going_ to be a veterinarian.”

“I went to MIT.” Lydia grinned. “And I grew up in Boston with Derek and Jackson. We bought this house together. Our plan had been to take in foster kids, but it didn’t work out. So now I’m just trying to fill the bedrooms.” 

“Well, that’s good news for me.” Scott pointed out, smiling.

“I can’t argue with that.” Lydia laughed. “Maybe one day, we can get approved, though. It wouldn’t bother you to have kids around here, would it?” 

“No, not at all.” Scott told her. He smiled. “I really like kids. I’m not around them enough, but it’s just me and my mom. I don’t have any cousins. I do have an aunt in Fresno, but my mom thinks she’s gonna end up being a spinster.”

Lydia laughed again. “Well, maybe we’ll keep one bedroom free for kids, since we’ll have eight tenants, anyway.” 

Scott smiled. “How many kids are you wanting to foster?” He asked her.

“As many as they’ll let me.” Lydia blurted. “The three of us were in foster care for years, to the point where I see them as being like my siblings. They’re biological cousins to each other, too. All of us lost family in a multi-car accident. Whenever one of us was supposed to be pulled out of one home and put into another, we fought to stay together. It happened a few times. Not too often, not like the stories I’ve heard from other foster kids.” 

“Wow.” Scott said softly, his eyes gentle. “I’m so sorry. I’m glad that you stayed together, though.”

“Thanks.” Lydia smiled. “I’m sorry, I feel like I hit you a little too hard with an emotional discussion. I’m used to just being around those two.” 

“No, it’s okay.” Scott told her. “I don’t mind at all. I feel like, if I’m going to be living here, I’d like to… you know, be familiar with the way you guys think and how you feel, so I can get used to your emotions. I don’t want to be an insensitive jerk just because I’m not paying attention, you know?”

“Right.” Lydia looked relieved. “Okay, do you want to see the rest of the house and the back yard? I mean, right now, or would you rather wait and keep talking?” 

“Couldn’t we look around and talk at the same time?” Scott suggested.

“Yes.” Lydia stood up and started walking toward the laundry room. “If you’re worried about someone using your laundry soap, you can just put your - you know, I'm not sure why I'm explaining things like you’re unaware of how life works.” She laughed, embarrassed. “If you have questions on anything, you could just ask me. Or one of them. Would a mini-fridge be necessary to your bedroom? I’m going shopping after we’re done here.” 

“A mini fridge would be kind of cool, but it’s not necessary, I don’t think.” Scott told her. “I was thinking, though, maybe we could get one of those big cube organizers and those, um, little cubby things? And then we could put that in the laundry room, and each of us, if we use our own specific… whatever, we can just put it in our personal cubby.”

Lydia nodded, smiling in appreciation. “I’ll pick up something today. How soon can you move in?” 

“ASAP.” Scott told her, laughing. “I mean, like, I can move in here in about an hour. All of my stuff is still packed up, and I’ve only really got, like, two bags. Mostly clothes.”

“Oh.” Lydia turned toward Scott. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you this prepared to move in?” 

Scott sighed a little, scratching at the back of his neck. “Honestly? I’ve been kind of living in my car since I moved here. Like I said, I only recently got the job at the clinic, and I-I, I mean, I have money saved up, I just… didn’t realize that places to live here were as expensive as they were.”

“Well, you’re more than welcome to stay here. Maybe it would even be better if you came along and helped pick out things, since I want to make sure you’re comfortable.” Lydia suggested. “Why don’t you just get your things from your car and bring them in, and I’ll show you around upstairs? You can pick a room then.” 

Scott beamed at her and nodded. “Okay,” He agreed, and then reached out to squeeze her hand gently. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.” Lydia smiled back at Scott and waited for him to come back with his stuff before she showed him around the rest of the first floor. After that, she walked up the stairs to the second story and pointed out where the bedrooms were for herself, Jackson and Derek. “Every bedroom has an ensuite bathroom, so you won’t have to worry about disturbing anyone else in the house if you have to get up in the middle of the night. Other than your roommates, that is. I’m going to admit that you’ll have more input in what happens with the bedroom you choose than your future roommates will, since you’re our first tenant. If you want the walls painted a certain color, as long as it’s not something ridiculous, we’ll agree to it. Or, more to the point, I’ll agree to it. I don’t think the guys really care that much. They’re as disappointed as I am that we can’t take in kids who need emotional support, but the idea of three bedrooms sitting empty is a little bit too much for us.” She made a face, frustrated that she was back to deep conversation that she probably shouldn’t have resorted to in the first place. Scott was a tenant, not a best friend, even though she already felt like he could be. She was more rational than this, and being emotional bothered her. To counter her encroaching bad mood, she opened the door to one of the empty bedrooms. “Go ahead and take a look around, see what you think of this one and the view through the window. You can see the other two before you make up your mind. Just because you’re in need of a place immediately doesn’t mean you should be uncomfortable in it.” 

Scott nodded. “Thank you.” He murmured. “Should I leave my stuff here until I pick a room? Not right in the hallway, I mean, but somewhere?” He wanted to ask about her family, not because he was nosy, but because he could see her being a very good friend and he wanted to know everything about her. He figured it would be the same once he properly met her cousins.

Lydia shrugged one shoulder. “I think once you pick a room, you could just leave your stuff there while we go shopping?” She suggested. “I’ll make a list of things we need or things you want. If you pay for any of it, we’ll just deduct that from your rent.” 

Scott nodded again. “Okay, that sounds good. I can hang onto them for that long. I don’t think it’ll take me long to pick a room.”

Lydia gestured to the other two bedroom doors. “Go ahead and look around, I’ll wait.” 

Scott bobbed his head and walked toward the rooms to look at them. He was right in that it didn’t take him long to pick one, and he was walking back several minutes later, bag free, from the last bedroom in the hall with a large smile on his face. “Okay! I’m set.”

Lydia leaned over the railing and called out to Jackson and Derek. “Hey, do you two want to go to the store?” 

Derek walked into the hall and peered up at her. “I wouldn’t mind going. Grocery shopping or house shopping? Either way, I can go.”

“House.” Lydia smiled. “We’re picking up some things for the room that Scott will be staying in, and probably having furniture delivered. Bunk beds.” 

Derek nodded. “Okay. Well, then it’ll be good to pick some things up for our rooms, too.” He smiled at Lydia. “I’m going to go get my shoes on, find Jackson, and I’ll let you know when we’re ready to go.”

“We’ll be out by the car.” Lydia turned toward Scott. “Come on.” She smiled. 

Scott gestured to her, grinning. “Lead the way!”

Lydia walked down the stairs and grabbed her purse on her way outside. She reminded herself to stop leaving it there, once more people moved in. Her old habits would have to stop, since she was going to allow complete strangers into her home. 

Scott followed her down the stairs, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “So where do you think we should go first? I’ve never really had to go furniture shopping before. Or… anything shopping, really.”

“There are a few stores, not too far from here.” Lydia gave Scott a curious look. “You’ve never done anything more than buy groceries? Not even your own clothes?” 

“Well, clothes shopping, yeah. And food shopping. But my mom’s house used to be my grandma’s house, and we were living with her before she died. And my room there used to be my mom’s room, so we didn’t really have to change much around. Once my grandma passed away, my mom moved into her bedroom and gave me her old mattress, and then… well, we did go out and get paint so that we could repaint my room, but otherwise, it was pretty well furnished, so I didn’t really see a reason to, you know, get anything new. That stuff was pretty sturdy.” He grinned. “My grandma had it all through her engagement and marriage with my grandpa, and that was in the forties.”

Lydia blinked. “Are you telling me that you had the same mattress for seventy years?” 

Scott blinked, too. “What? No.” He laughed. “No, no. I had my mom’s old mattress when we first moved in, and then my mom’s newer one after my grandma died. I meant the furniture and stuff. The dressers and the bed frame and stuff that were in my room were the wedding presents my great-grandparents got Grams and Gramps when they got married.” He paused, furrowing his brows together. “Which… seems really, really weird, but whatever.”

“No, I think it’s great that the old furniture held up that long.” Lydia protested. “Just - I wouldn't say the same thing about mattresses.” 

“Well, you’re not wrong.” Scott told her. “I mean, they were really uncomfortable. But I didn’t have to live with it for long, if that makes a difference.” He murmured. “We moved in when I was ten, and then Grams died when I was fifteen. And I’m nineteen now. Or I will be in August, anyway.”

“Well, I just hope you make sure to get yourself something comfortable while we’re at the store. I don’t want you to skimp on price, if you can avoid it. If it comes to having to split the cost of something with us, we’ll still make sure that your rent is comped for whatever amount you spend.” Lydia glanced at her watch. “Derek doesn’t take this long. Jackson’s probably brushing his hair.” 

Scott laughed. “He’s pretty into himself?” He asked, looking amused as he watched Derek walk out of the front door, his hand firmly around the upper arm of the obnoxious guy who had originally opened the door for Scott when he’d first arrived. He straightened, subconsciously hovering a little closer to Lydia.

Derek shook his head, smiling faintly at Lydia and Scott as he approached. “Sorry about that. Someone figured that ‘we’re going shopping’ was carte blanche to milk time so he could look pretty.”

“I _am_ pretty.” Jackson blurted. “It doesn’t hurt to look better.”

“You’re idiotic.” Lydia corrected, shaking her head. “Do you really believe you’ll pick up some woman at a furniture store?” 

“You never know.” Jackson shrugged. “I’ve picked up a woman at the laundromat before.”

“Classy.” Scott mumbled, trying to hold back his laughter.

Lydia rolled her eyes. “This is what I get for deciding it would be a great idea to live with two guys I see as being like my brothers.” 

Derek ran his fingers through her hair in amusement. “Love you, too, Ariel.” He teased, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Come on, we’ll take the SUV. If we end up getting more stuff today than expected, we can schedule delivery for the bigger stuff and take the smaller things home with us.”

Lydia nodded and put her keys back into her purse, walking toward the SUV. “What school did you say you were enrolled in, Scott?” 

“I didn’t, actually.” Scott murmured, following her. “Not yet, anyway. But I’m enrolled at Tufts University. They have a great veterinary program. It’s… I’m probably going to be owing student loans for most of my life, but I think it’s worth it.”

Lydia smiled as she opened one of the doors, turning toward Scott. “I think it is.” She mused. 

Scott relaxed a little and smiled back at her. “I’m glad you think so. My mom does, too.”

“Can you see yourself taking this career as far as you possibly can?” Derek asked curiously, opening the driver’s side door and watching Jackson in the rearview as his cousin climbed into the backseat.

Scott huffed out a laugh and opened the other door, nodding. “Oh, yeah. It’s the only thing I’ve ever really wanted to do with my life.”

Derek smiled. “Then it’s definitely worth it. That’s four people, including yourself, that think it’s worth it. You’re going to do great.”

Lydia sat down and fastened her seatbelt. “Do you know anyone else who needs a place to live?” She gave Scott a hopeful smile. 

Scott tilted his head, thinking. “Um. I mean, I can see, but… I don’t really know many people out here yet, honestly.” He grimaced, feeling sorry about taking away the woman’s smile. It was lovely, and it suited her, and he felt like a dunce for disappointing her with his non-answer.

Lydia shook her head at him. “Don’t worry about it, I’m sure you’ll meet a lot of people.” 

“Maybe.” Scott murmured, smiling crookedly. “I mean, I’ve met you three already. And I haven’t been here that long.”


End file.
